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I head to the common room at the center of the navigation wing. It used to be what I assume was the main crew deck for the building before it came to be the facility. Since the morts’ numbers are so small, they no longer need it. The large room serves my needs perfectly. With Hadrian’s help, I’ve transformed it into a living room for when we wake the others.
Hadrian took furniture from the other living areas around the facility: a couple long, sleek, mod-looking couches and armless chairs. We arranged them around a low, thin coffee table with a large dish of goldenroot candies in the middle. He even fashioned a fireplace out of an old laser ray emitter to make the room feel homey. The effect works. Or, it would if I weren’t so worried about the new girl and Breccan.
I pass through it now, on my way to the last of the living areas. There are six rooms, three on either side. One I’ve set up as a library of sorts. There are a ton of old manuals and a few history texts Hadrian managed to scavenge. I also stocked the shelves with blank tablets and paper, art supplies, and drawing implements for the future inhabitants. I hope it will be a soothing hobby for the women once they wake.
The other five rooms each contain small cots, a night table, a cabinet for clothes, and a small closet with a shower tube for cleaning. I still haven’t gotten used to taking such intense showers that make you feel like a layer of your skin is missing afterward, frankly, but being clean is better than nothing.
I think Hadrian’s enjoyed preparing the rooms for more people. He’s mentioned on more than one occasion how happy he is to have more people joining the sub-faction.
Forcing myself to stop thinking, I go through each room, straightening things that don’t need to be straightened and telling myself it will all work out. It has to.
The swoosh of the door alerts me to Hadrian’s return. I make sure to move slowly out of one of the rooms. Going too quickly seems to trigger my upchuck reflexes. It doesn’t take much these days, apparently.
“Did you get Avrell?” I ask as I move as quickly as my changing body will allow.
“I did,” he answers hesitantly and steps out of the doorway to reveal not two, but three morts filling the entryway to the living quarters.
My eyes immediately narrow to Breccan’s towering form. “What are you doing here?”
His expression is hard and unreadable, and I’d be lying if there wasn’t a part of me concerned at his lack response. He’s always looked at me with affection and desire, even in the beginning. I feel the loss of it like a punch. Not only had I risked the life of the girl I was trying to protect, but I’d alienated the only man who’d ever cared for me.
“I’m still the commander of this faction. All of its members, including the alien ones, are my responsibility.”
Hadrian steps in front of him and I hear his sub-bones crack menacingly. Breccan growls in return. A part of me softens even further at Hadrian’s need to protect me. He’s almost like the younger brother I never had.
“I don’t want you to upset her,” Hadrian says. “She’s carrying the future for all morts, not just you.”
Not wanting a fight and knowing it’s important Avrell see the girl as soon as possible, I wave them into her room and give Hadrian a quelling look. “Now is not the time. This way,” I add in Avrell’s direction.
“Why haven’t we done this with our living quarters?” I hear Avrell ask Breccan in a muted voice as they pass through the living areas.
“Hush,” Breccan instructs, but when I peer back at them, I see his eyes roving appreciatively over my improvements. But none of the pretty decorations will mean anything if there is no one alive to appreciate them. I ignore him as his eyes land on me once he finishes his appraisal. I can’t bear to see the disappointment from my reckless behavior.
The girl is awake for the first time since we brought her to the navigation wing. Her big blue eyes widen when the aliens come into the room. Her breathing quickens and I frown at the wheezing, rattling quality of it. Have her lungs been damaged by the cryotube?
Doubt burns at me relentlessly. Had I caused the damage?
“What’s…going…on?” she asks around gasping breaths. Her wild eyes search the room, her breathing worsening as they land on Breccan, Avrell, and Hadrian.
Remembering the fear that had overtaken me after I woke up, I step forward in front of them, giving them a side eye to back off a little.
I take her hand in mine, careful of the monitors Avrell insisted she be hooked up to. Hearing her breathing now, I’m grateful he did. “Don’t worry. I know everything feels scary and confusing right now, but we’re here to help you. These are my friends. They won’t hurt you.”
